


Thank You, Henrietta

by jeni_andtheafterthought



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blended family, Canon Divergent, Established Relationship, Family Barbecue turned Mini Carnival, Family Dynamics, Flashbacks, Growing Up, Harry Potter Epilogue Compliant, Henrietta the Silkie, Implied Teddy Lupin/James Sirius Potter - Freeform, M/M, Magical Equivalent of Waterballoons, Minor Ginny Weasley/Luna Lovegood, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Minor Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter, Non-Linear Narrative, Shower Sex, Summer Heat meets Summer Breeze, Vegetarian!Lily, minor coming out, romantic sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-06-30 22:11:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15760722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeni_andtheafterthought/pseuds/jeni_andtheafterthought
Summary: Lily is on her way to Hogwarts for the last time.  Harry wants to celebrate by throwing the perfect party, and Draco is determined to help.





	Thank You, Henrietta

**Author's Note:**

> A thousand thanks to the mods. I've never had such a challenging time with a fest before, but I'm eternally grateful for all the help I received.
> 
> To my beta, I offer a million hugs because I owe you the world!
> 
> thanks to all the sprinters on discord!!! You're the best and most motivating people I've ever had the opportunity to write with.
> 
> and lastly, thanks to the prompter who provided this gem:  
> Prompt: Harry and Draco are hosting a bbq with friends and family to mark Lily's last year at Hogwarts. ((extras: Ron/Hermione, next-gen characters, summer breeze, vegetarian!Lily, good time with friends and family))

_August 2025_

Draco woke early to start preparing for the day. Harry and James were already in the back garden setting up a tent by the time he was showered and ready to begin party preparations.

The tent was one of the few requests Draco had for the barbecue. There was no ignoring the heat, but staying out of the sun would help. If the party wasn’t for Lily, Draco might find some way out of staying for the entire duration of the event. But he would stay for any of the kids. Especially since this was a barbecue celebrating her final year at Hogwarts, he couldn’t imagine a single thing that would keep him from attending.  

Draco spent a good portion of the early morning preparing food. He knew Ron and Molly would be contributing as well so he focused on meat-free things Lily could eat. Even by nine in the morning, the heat of the kitchen was sweltering. Cooling charms just weren’t holding.

He was no stranger to extravagance and parties, but Draco was surprised by how much Harry was putting into such a small event. A dozen or so of their friends and family attending a barbecue in at their home sounded like an easy event, but Harry was definitely going overboard. Draco stopped paying attention to his plans days ago. Listening only to the guest list, food, and everything Lily wanted.

Draco was just putting the last of the swiss meringues into a container when Lily stomped into the kitchen.  

“Can you please tell Daddy that mushrooms are not a vegetable?” she asked.

“No.”

“Why not?” she pouted.

“I think it’s a self-preservation strategy. If he admitted what they really were, he might not eat them,” Draco explained.

“You really think we’d convince him to eat a portobello burger?” She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I didn’t want to be out there anyway. It’s mad hot already,” Lily said, dropping onto a chair at the table.

“What are they doing out there so early? I’m sure it doesn’t take that long to throw a few tables and chairs under a canopy tent.”

“They are setting up the bouncy castle.”

He wasn’t sure she was serious until he looked to see a brightly colored blob out the kitchen window. “Are you kidding me?” he mumbled to himself.

Lily shrugged a shoulder. Draco braced himself against the counter with both hands.

“Whose idea was that? Did you ask for a bouncy castle?”

“Of course not,” Lily giggled. “Deep breath, Papa,” she said, plucking a meringue from the box.

“Lil, will you please go tell your dad that a mushroom is a fungus?” he asked her.

She nodded. Draco watched her stroll back out to where Harry and James were setting up a bloody bounce house.

  


_June 2023_

Draco jumped at the sound of the door swinging on its hinges. Someone running through the back door had his nerves on high alert as the crying of a fifteen year old filled the otherwise quiet house.

Lily shouted through tears, “Daddy!”

Draco knew Harry was gone but not where he was or when he would be back. Draco never had a moment of hesitation about how to interact with Al or James. Boys were easy. Lily on the other hand, he didn’t know what to do with her. Despite living with Harry for two years and spending holidays with them as a family, he still wasn’t sure where he stood with her.  

Just as Draco tried to sneak away to find Harry, Lily entered the kitchen, “Daddy?”

“I’m sorry he’s not—” before he got a single thought out, Lily ran to him and threw her arms around him.

“Papa,” she sobbed, “Henrietta’s gone.”

Draco froze.  

 _Papa?_ He knew that name as his own. It had been his name for 17 years, but never from her. Not once from a single person other than Scorpius. Not even Astoria had referred to him as such when speaking to their son. _And who the hell was Henrietta?_

Lily’s face was pressed against his chest as she cried onto his shirt. He didn’t know what to do. Draco took her in his arms saying, “It’s going to be okay.” He hesitated. She called him Papa. What should he call her? Harry had roughly a hundred names for her. Draco wouldn’t dare call her Sweetie Girl or Lala or Moon Bug.

Draco tried again, “It’s okay, Lil. We’ll find Henrietta.” _The chicken!_ he remembered. _Henrietta was her chicken!_

Lily looked up at Draco with puffy eyes and a pink nose. “I think something got her.”

“Why do you think so?” Draco asked, pulling her to a seat at the kitchen table. When he sat next to her, she scooted close enough to him that she could lean her head on his shoulder.

Lily wiped her face with her sleeve. “I went out to check on her. It rained last night and you know she hates that.”

Draco did not know she hated that. After growing up with peacocks, and maybe for another reason, he generally avoided birds.

“When I got out there, she, her coop…” Lily’s words were interrupted by her sobs. “It’s covered in feathers.”

“I’ll go look if you want. You can, I guess, make some tea and I will be right back.”

\--

Several minutes and a revelio or two later, there was still no chicken. Draco walked back into the kitchen. Lily sat in the same seat at the table, but now there were two tea mugs with her.

“I’m sorry, Lil,” he started.

She shook her head and pointed at the tea. “Yours.”

He sat next to her and took the mug into his hands. The weight of Lily’s head on his shoulder once again felt considerably less awkward this time.  

“I am sorry.”

“It was just a stupid chicken.”

“But it was your stupid chicken,” Draco retorted before he could stop himself.  

Against all odds, Lily laughed. “Yeah. She was.”

They sat there until Lily’s tea was cold and Draco’s tea was gone. “Was that okay?” Lily whispered.

“What? The tea? Of course.”

Lily kept her face hidden, her head against Draco’s shoulder to avoid eye-contact. “I called you Papa.”

“I noticed.”

“Was that okay?”

“Yes.”

“You can keep calling me Lil if you want. No one else does,” Lily said, voice quieter than before.

“Is that that what you want?” Draco asked.

“Yeah. It makes sense. You weren’t here when I was tiny so all the other names Daddy has for me wouldn’t make sense for you. I like it,” she explained. “I asked. Daddy said you wouldn’t get mad if I wanted to call you Papa.”

It didn’t surprise Draco that Harry never mentioned it. Instead of answering, he leaned his head on hers. It wasn’t comfortable. She said he never saw her tiny, but next to him, she would likely always be tiny. They heard the front door open and close, but since Lily didn’t move, Draco didn’t either.

Harry stepped into the kitchen doorway and stopped. Seeing them at the table, Harry only stared. He must have realized what he was doing, because he carried the basket he held over to Lily. Only then did she lift her head from Draco’s shoulder.

“She’s sleeping,” Harry said.

Lily laughed, looking so much more like Molly than like either of her parents. Her smile lit up her entire face and she pulled the basket into her arms. Tears welled up in her eyes again as she stroked the chicken’s back. “What happened to you?” she whispered.

“Snake got into the coop. Heard it on my way out this morning. I got there in time to tell the snake to fuck off, but ‘Etta had a hell of a fight first,” Harry said, wiping the tears from Lily’s eyes.

Draco could see that Harry was doing some minor healing charm without words or a wand. Lily’s puffy eyes were back to normal and her nose went from pink to pale and freckled.  Draco wondered if Lily even realized he was doing it.

“Where did you take her?”

“Uncle Hagrid checked her out. Said she ‘weren’t hurtin’ too bad ‘r nothin’ but she might be a little anxious for a while.”

Lily giggled at Harry imitating Hagrid’s words.  

“Can she sleep in my room for a little while?” she asked, keeping her voice low for the sleeping chicken in her lap.

When Harry nodded, she left. They stood to follow her but the moment she was out of the kitchen, Harry took Draco’s face in his hands and kissed him like he owed Draco the world. After four years, kissing Harry still outshines every fantasy he’d had about him when they were younger.

They were breathless by the time Harry pulled away. Draco smiled at him. “What was that about?”

“I wasn’t here for her.”

“It’s fine. I was here.”

“I was so scared you didn’t like each other, but I didn’t know how to fix it,” Harry said.

“Harry, listen to me. I love you. I love your kids. You know that. Lily and I just don’t know how to treat each other. We’re figuring it out, but I’ve never disliked her.”

Harry pulled Draco in for another kiss just as James stepped through the floo.

“Can ya not? You’re in the kitchen. We eat in here.”

“Welcome home,” Harry laughed and kissed Draco anyway.

  


_August 2025_

Hours passed in controlled chaos. More guests arrived and started to work until it was impossible to tell who was in charge of hosting. Draco started bringing food out of the kitchen with the help of Ron and Molly.

“Mum, let’s keep the one without bacon at the far end,” Ron called, “right there on the green tablecloth.”  

“How did you manage to talk her into making a separate potato salad for me?” Lily asked.

Ron turned to see Lily poking around to see which vegetarian dishes they’d made. “You think I was able to talk her into changing one of her recipes? You’ve got too much faith in me. I made it myself.”

“Really?” Lily asked.  

“Why the surprise?”

Lily threw an arm around him, “And here I’d thought you’ve given up trying to be my favorite uncle.”

“I’ll settle for top three.”

“We’ll see if you can hold on to that. Charlie got me that job with him at the dragon reservation next summer. So you’d have to pull a miracle to get top spot.”

Ron winked at Draco before turning to look directly at Lily, “Maybe if I can manage to get Draco with one of the water balloons we brought?”

“Is it really worth it?” Draco asked, making the warning clear in his voice.

Lily giggled. “It is for me.”

Leaving them to catch up, Draco continued setting up the food tables until he was satisfied and cast stasis charms on each of them. Once finished, he was finally able to look around and see some of the other things that were set up.

Luna was the first he spotted. She was setting up a table under the tent.

“Hello, Draco. Did you want to get your face painted first?” Luna said, holding out her brush in invitation.  

“No thanks, Luna. Is that what you’re doing?”

She nodded, her hair falling into her face. “It’s a bit warm, isn’t it? But not to worry, these paints won’t run until you want them off. Harry thought face-painting would be a nice addition to the barbecue.

“It’s starting to look less like a barbecue and more like a kids’ carnival,” Draco said, trying to keep his disapproval to himself.

“It’s lovely, isn’t it?” Luna asked. “Ginny is arriving with a slide. The fun house wasn’t available on such short notice.”

“A slide?”

“Yes, one of the really big ones that you slide down while sitting on a mat. It looked cute,” she said.

Draco wondered what Harry had gotten himself into. The youngest person here was Lily, possibly Hugo if his birthday was after Lily’s. Even so, no one was younger than seventeen.

“Harry, good to see you,” Luna said.

Draco turned to see Harry for what felt like the first time that day. His hair was showing all the evidence of the humidity. Draco ran his hands through the mass of curls and only slightly succeeded in pushing them away from Harry’s face. He wanted to ask Harry what he was thinking, setting up such a juvenile set of activities. He could ask why the garden was turning into a carnival. Instead, he decided to let it go. Draco slipped his hand into Harry’s and turned his attention back to Luna.

“Hey to you, too. Ginny not come in with you?”  Harry asked.

“I haven’t seen her since we got up this morning. She’ll be here shortly I’m sure.”

“Speak of the Devil,” Harry said, as he saw Ginny crossing the distance from the apparation point to the tent.

“Sorry I’m late, but it doesn’t look like we’re officially started yet, huh?” she said.

“Nah, haven’t even lit the grill yet,” Harry said.

Draco pulled his hand from Harry’s and took a modest step away.

“Good, I’m starving. But first, where are my babies?”

“Lily’s with Ron, last I checked. Al is wherever Scorp is, and James is probably still in the bouncy castle. He and Teddy have about a dozen cooling charms on it,” Harry said.

“Fantastic. I’ll be back,” she said, only pausing to kiss Luna before heading for the bouncy castle.

“You really don’t have to let go,” Luna said, before following Ginny.

“What was that about?” Draco asked Harry.

“She meant our hands. If you’re doing it for you, then keep on. But you don’t have to let go of my hand every time Ginny is around. There’s nothing wrong with everyone being happy,” Harry said, reaching for Draco’s hand.

He hesitated for only a second before taking it. “We _are_ a thing, yeah?”

“Yeah, Draco, we’re definitely a thing,” Harry said. He pulled Draco in as close as the heat would allow him to and pressed a kiss against Draco’s shoulder.

“Ugh. It’s like you wait for me to show up,” James said.

Harry laughed and Draco hid his smile against Harry.

James smiled and shook his head, “Anyway, where’s Mum?”

  


_December 2021_

“Why do we keep doing this? It’s pretty obvious at this point that we’re together. The kids have to know. You don’t have to be that clever to figure this out,” Harry said, gesturing between himself and Draco.  

“I’m sure they know, but we’re clever, too. You do realize Al and Scorpius are close friends…”

“Are you kidding me? You can say it. They’re dating. Or whatever the equivalent of dating is for fifteen-year-olds,” Harry said.

“And you think it’s a good idea to throw them into a situation that would jeopardize their friendship. How would it be for them to live together now? And what would we say?”

Harry sighed, his breath visible in the December cold. The warming charms were struggling against the snow that started to fall. “You should just stay. There are enough rooms in this house that you don’t even have to sleep with me.”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea. Scorpius is my first priority. And I’m not going to put my desires in front of his friendships,” Draco said, taking another step backward toward the apparation point at the front gate. “I can’t imagine this working between us without making a toxic environment for our sons.”

“Draco, cut the shit. Why won’t you stay?”

“I’m coming back in the morning.”

Harry ran a hand through his hair, making his frustration obvious. “Look, that’s half of why this is ridiculous. You’re letting your kid stay here tonight so he can wake up on Christmas morning without his dad? And you think showing up in time for breakfast in anything other than pajamas will make that any better?”

“You don’t see how this could be weird or toxic for them? They have an entirely different experience with each other right now than they would have if we were to pursue any sort of relationship,” Draco said, no longer looking at Harry.

“Does Scorpius not talk to you about Al?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re avoiding—”

Draco stomped up the walkway until he was right in front of Harry. “I understand that Albus is your son, but that does not mean you are privy to the conversations I have with Scorpius.”

Harry’s irritation melted away.  “I’m so sorry.”

Draco took a deep breath to steady himself before saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I thought you knew. I thought he told you. I’m so sorry,” Harry said. “I thought that was at least a little bit of the reason you’re here now.”

“What exactly do you think you know about my son?” Draco nearly shouted.

Before Harry could answer, the front door of the house flew open and Harry was shoved to the side. Scorpius stood in front of his father in his pajamas, barefooted on the walkway.

“Papa, can we talk?” he said, almost too quiet for Harry to hear.  

Before Draco could answer, Harry felt a tug at the back of his shirt. He turned to see Albus pulling him back inside the house. Harry nodded to Albus and kicked off his slippers, pushing them toward Scorpius’ feet. He didn’t wait for Scorpius to step into them before he followed his son into the house.

Once in the kitchen, Albus hopped up to sit on the counter.

“Dad, I think you might have screwed up a bit.”

“I think you might have black hair,” Harry responded.

“If things go good, they’ll be back in a minute. Just don’t say anything,” Albus said, running his hand through his hair in much the same way Harry did when he was uncomfortable.

“I won’t pry.”

“Nah, I mean unless his dad seriously freaks out then they’re both going to come in soon, and we’re going to sit here and say nothing,” Albus explained.  

“Okay.”

“That was easy.”

He sat at the table so he could look up at his son. “I think I just outed him to his father, I owe Scorpius a lot more than a little bit of silence, don’t you think?”

Albus scoffed. “We think his dad knew. But it’s different to know something and to be told something. They never had that conversation.”

“Not sure if I feel worse or better,” Harry muttered.

Neither of them spoke again in the few long minutes leading up to the front door letting in the cold. When Scorpius and Draco entered the kitchen, Scorpius slipped the shoes off next to Harry before taking a seat at the far side of the kitchen table. When Draco finally took a seat, Scorpius started talking.

Harry would have turned to look at him, but Albus shook his head. He pointed a finger from his eyes to Harry in an eyes-on-me signal. Harry may not be allowed to look, but he did listen.

“Things just got really complicated because no one wanted to say anything. By the time I was ready to tell you I’m, er, Al and I...are a thing, I realized you and his dad are a thing, too. Look, this doesn’t have to be weird. We know about you and him. And really, we don’t care,” Scorpius said, seeming to pick up in the middle of the conversation that started outside.

Albus was no longer looking at Harry. His eyes were on Scorpius and he was blushing.  

Scorpius continued, “No matter what you two do, Al won’t be my brother. I mean, we’ve been sleeping in the same dorm room every night since our first day at Hogwarts and we still don’t feel like family.  So I don’t care. You can be with whoever you want and it’s not going to change a thing for me.”

Harry didn’t know if he was allowed to say anything yet. Seconds ticked by and he wanted nothing more than to say something. To Al, to Draco. Hell, even to Scorpius. There were a hundred things to say. When he was sure no one else was going to speak he took a deep breath, steadying himself for what came next.

“What the hell?!” James shouted. “Wait, who got caught doing what? I’ve got money on this?”

“You know what? Everyone out of my kitchen. Go to bed. How am I supposed to pretend to be Father Christmas if everyone is watching me pull presents out of the cupboard?” Harry said, and watched the boys stroll out of the kitchen.

“Still want me to stay?” Draco asked..

With a heavy sigh, Harry answered, “Might as well. You heard what he said. We’re a ‘thing’ now.”  


 

_ August 2025  _

Pansy thanked Luna for the intricate masquerade style paint she now wore across her face and kicked off her stilettos to chase Lily to the bouncy castle. Draco saw Molly’s eyes follow her. He could imagine what she was thinking.

“Wait a second, Pans,” Draco called, following her over. “Please tell me you’ve remembered all the appropriate spells for such an occasion.”

“You mean, did I charm my dress so I won’t suffer a wardrobe malfunction at a family event?” Pansy said, smiling widely.

“Well, you know Molly’s a sweetheart, but let’s be real, it wouldn’t take much to topple back to square one with her again,” Draco warned.

“Maybe I took care of it, maybe I didn’t. Don’t remember. Now excuse, me, my favorite niece wants to play with me and get our faces painted,” she said, walking away with just a bit more bounce to her step.  

Before he turned around, he felt it. He’d been hit squarely in the back with one of Ron’s water balloons.  

“Papa, I’m so sorry! I was aiming for Al but he cheated!” Scorpius shouted.

“How do you cheat at water balloons?!” Al shouted back.

“You disapparated!” Rose answered.

Draco turned to see the kids in the middle of a water balloon match. Most of them were covered in the evidence of the potion and water filled balloons. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw them playing like this. He would suffer a dozen balloons to see them like this. Maybe Harry had the right idea letting them be kids again, if only for an afternoon.

Though he was grateful for the water in this heat, he was hesitant to check the effects of his balloon. A glance over his shoulder filled him with relief. Draco was trailed by a cloud of bubbles. He would take that over the one on Hugo. Hugo looked like he’d been touched by King Midas, if Midas turned things to glitter instead of gold.

Draco just smiled at Scorpius and shook his head. Instead of worry about his new bubbles, he made his way back to the tent to help with the grill.  

\---

“See, I told you I wouldn’t be the only one to eat a portobello burger,” Lily said when taking another plate from her dad.  She pointed to the picnic table where Molly and Rose were eating their own mushroom burgers.

“Fine, you’ve got me there, I expected everyone to have better taste than that,” Harry said.

She rolled her eyes at him before wandering back to her table.

Draco smiled at their little jabs, but he knew that Harry had gone out of his way to get the best mushrooms and had even tested the recipe before today. Harry was far from fond of Lily’s dietary choices, but he was always accommodating. Draco was pretty sure Harry was just glad she had chosen not to continue her vegan diet. Those had been a terrible few weeks to witness.

Hermione stepped up to the grill next. “I’ll try a mushroom burger too if there are plenty to go around.”

“Et tu, Brute?” Harry said.

Draco laughed, and took a mushroom from the non-meat side of the grill. “I feel like I haven’t even seen you yet today.”

“I know. Between the kids and the activities, there’s been a lot to keep up with,” she said, taking the plate from Draco.

“Is that you?” Harry asked her.

“Is what me?”

“That sound.”

“Oh,” she laughed. “Yeah, the chimes? They thought it would be funny to test out the water balloons on me. Looks like I wasn’t the only one,” she said, pointing to Draco.

Draco opened his mouth to speak, but felt another splash against his legs. He looked to the potion to see which one he’d be wearing. When nothing seemed to happen, he turned to see Ron and Lily staring wide eyed in his direction.

“I’m number one again!” Ron shouted.

Lily didn’t know whether to laugh or run until Draco laughed.  

“I wasn’t serious! He did that on his own! I’m innocent, get him not me!” Lily shouted.

It wasn’t until Draco took a step in their direction that he realized which balloon he wore.  With every move, he jingled.

“You’re like me!” Hermione giggled.

“We sound like wind chimes in a tornado,” Draco said, unable to hide his smile.  “I can put a Stasis Charm on that burger for you if you want to see how obnoxious we sound in the bouncy castle.”

“Oh, now you want to act like I need help with a charm?”

“My mistake, Hermione. You’re plenty charming. Let’s go annoy the hell out of everyone.”

\---

By the time they stumbled out of the bouncy castle in desperate need of water, a breeze had finally picked up.  

“Oh thank Merlin.  It has been oppressively hot today,” Hermione said, getting two glasses of water from the drink table.  She handed one to Draco and they sat in the empty seats near Pansy and Molly.

“You’re not kidding,” Pansy said.  “It’s too hot for big titties.”

Draco didn’t know who panicked more, himself or Hermione. When Molly slowly turned her gaze to Pansy, Draco braced himself for the worst.

“You know what young lady,” Molly started. “You are absolutely right. This breeze is a nice change. Hopefully it will hold up.”

Hermione fought to keep herself from laughing and failed. Soon enough, she was laughing until tears pricked her eyes.

“What did you to to her?” Ginny asked, joining them at their table.

“We were just talking about titty heat,” Molly explained.

Ginny’s arms immediately crossed over her chest, and her face blushed redder than her hair.  

Hermione was hardly breathing at this point, and the rest of them couldn’t hold it back any longer. They were all in a fit of giggles when Luna stopped by.

“I think we should all go down the slide. It’s big enough we can go down in small groups,” she said.

“Luna,” Ginny said, “you’re perfect. Let’s go.”

“I think I’m going to head home soon. I would like to be home when your father returns from Bill’s. And Miss Pansy is right. I’m not suited for this heat,” Molly said.

“Okay, Mum,” Ginny said.

Draco turned to Pansy to allow them a modicum of privacy. “So you’re gonna slide with me, right?”

“I don’t know, is that potion balloon worn off yet? I can’t imagine having fun while enduring the sound of a china cabinet being pushed down a staircase,” she teased.

Before he had to think of some witty retaliation, their little group had hopped up and run over to the slide. Al, Hugo, and Scorpius were on their twentieth trip down—at least—when they saw them.

“Papa!” Scorpius shouted.  “Are you gonna slide with me?”

“Of course,” he called to his son.

“You’ll love it. It doesn’t look that high,” he said, running up to Draco, “but it’s like, probably fifteen meters tall.”

“Are you shitting me? Why the hell would you have a deathtrap like this at a party?” Pansy asked, already on her way to the top of the slide.

They filed into a line up the staircase attached to the slide. Draco watched the others go down first. Scorpius wanted to go with his Aunt Pansy first, and he watched Hermione slide with Hugo and Luna.  

Soon, he was alone at the top of the slide.

Draco looked around. He knew without a doubt that Harry was doing all this in an attempt to hold on to his children for one more day. To watch them be little, and to hear them laugh going down a giant slide, or jumping in an inflatable castle. He knew Harry needed to kiss Lily’s gold-painted cheek. He needed to see Al and Scorpius making identical plates of food and laughing at jokes no one else would understand. Harry would remember James soaking Ginny and Ron with potion filled water balloons. Harry always blamed himself for missing out on so many things. He was taking this one day to show that he would move mountains just to see all of them smile.

Too soon, his moment to take it all in was over. Scorpius ran up the steps and before he knew it, they were racing toward the ground sitting on a little cloth mat. Draco realized he much preferred a broom when he was so high off the ground.

  


_June 2022_

James pulled a few more things out of his closet and threw them into a trunk in the middle of the room. Harry offered, for the hundredth time, to help him pack, or to check the extension charm on his trunk. James and Teddy were finally getting a flat together, but only after they traveled through most of Europe during James’ last summer before getting a job.  

“Dad, I got it. It’s fine. It’s not any different than going to Mom’s for a few weeks, or going to school for months. You’ll see me soon,” James said, his crooked smile not showing a hint of the heartbreak creeping into Harry’s smile.

“I know I’ll see you,” he said, reaching out to ruffle James’ hair. _But when you come back, you won’t think this is home._

“Come on, don’t make this a big thing. I can see it. You wanna say stuff and make things all emotional,” James said.

“No way. I’m going to sit here on your bed, not move, and watch you leave without so much as a celebratory handshake.”

“Good,” James said, kicking the trunk closed before sitting beside his dad. “Because I would hate to think that I was going to have to walk across the room and sit next to you and have a sappy conversation about how I love you and that I’ll send you owls from all over Europe.”

Harry laughed but didn’t trust himself not to cry if he spoke.

“And then I’ll even skip the part where I remind you that Teddy’s gonna make sure I’m okay, too. Or that when we get back, we’ll promise to come visit and eat all your food,” James said, wrapping an arm around his dad. “I won’t bother hugging you either. That’s boring.”

Harry pulled James in tight and held him. He patted James’ back for as long as he thought James would let him.  

“I gotta go, Dad,” James whispered. “Already said bye to the others, and Teddy's probably back from Grandromeda's by now. We've got a train to catch this afternoon and we wanted to grab some food first.”

“Have time for some last minute words of wisdom?” Harry asked, finally allowing James to pull away.

“Let me guess,” James said, sitting on his trunk, “is it something along the lines of ‘be good or be good at it’?”

“Exactly that,” Harry nodded.  

“I will. Bye, Dad,” James said.

James disapparated. He was gone. Harry sat there on James’ bed, not ready to walk back into the rest of the house. He wasn’t ready walk through a house that James no longer lived in, so he didn’t.

Harry didn’t remember laying back onto the bed, but hours later, when he heard footsteps on the stairs, he sat up to see Draco standing in the doorway.

“He’s gone,” Harry said, the words catching in his throat.

“He’s not here,” Draco said, “but he’s far from gone.”

Harry didn’t answer.  

“James will be fine, you know. He’s ready for this,” Draco continued.  

“I’m not.”

Harry didn’t notice Draco had moved until he felt his hands on his shoulder. He looked up at Draco and waited, unsure what he was waiting for.

“Well, I’m not going to tell you how to deal with this, and I know it’s going to take time. However, you have three more kids downstairs waiting for you to come down to dinner,” Draco said.

“Can you just stay here with me for a minute?”

“Okay.”

“I just feel like I barely got to have them. When I was little, I never thought about it, but Hogwarts? They’re at school more than they’re home, and then there’s the amount of time they’re at Ginny’s. I feel like I’m missing out on so much. I feel like they’ve never needed me,” Harry said.

“They’ll always need you,” Draco said.

“Yeah, in some way, but there is a day when your kids don’t want to play with you and there’s nothing you can do to bring that back.”

Draco reached for something to say. Truth be told, he feared exactly the same thing.

  


_August 2025_

Draco watched Harry play with their kids long after everyone else left for the evening. The last to go was Ginny, and she only left then because the Harpies had a match the next morning. The bouncy castle had been deflated, the water balloons were used up, and everyone who wanted paint had been painted. The food was split up and sent home with guests or taken back to the kitchen. The heat had faded with the daylight, but for as long as the fairy lights would glow, those who remained weren’t ready for the day to end.  

Draco wasn’t even sure if they were actually playing a game or if they were just running in circles, letting Henrietta chase the last of their water balloon effects after being stuck in her coop all day. Lily still had pink butterflies coming off of her right shoulder that Henrietta seemed particularly intent on.

The breeze that had picked up earlier that afternoon was still holding strong. Draco looked around and decided that any remaining clean up would hold until the next morning.  He settled into a lawn chair and watched as they tired themselves out.

Before long, Lily pulled up a chair next to him.  “Hey, Papa?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t know what I wanted to say,” she whispered. “Tired.”

Draco looked over at her, with her legs pulled up into the chair and her head propped up against her fist. She would always be tiny next to him, but now she looked so young again. For a minute, he saw the twelve year old girl that never knew what to say to him.  He thought of the two years he wished he could have back. They spent two years learning how to speak to each other, and now he wished so badly that he would have been as brave as she was the day she cried to him about a damned chicken.

Draco didn’t remember deciding to reach out to her, but he brushed his hand over her hair the same way he used to do with Scorpius.  

Lily smiled and opened her eyes, “Sorry. I’m crashing. I think if I’d stopped moving earlier, I would have noticed that I’ve probably been sleepwalking for the past couple hours.”

“It’s okay,” Draco said. “You had fun today, right?”

She nodded. “Best day ever. Even so, I think I’m going to go take the quickest shower the world has ever seen. Then I’m gonna sleep for ten hours.”

“That sounds like a solid plan,” Draco agreed.

\---

At the mention of showers and bed, the rest of them filed into the house. Everyone had the unspoken agreement that they’d stay tonight, but even with Lily, James, Scorpius, and Al in the house, things settled into the quiet of night.  

Draco always knew there was a special kind of magic in a home. Pushing open the door to his bedroom, he was reminded of this fact. Harry stood naked with a towel draped over one arm.

“Hey,” he said.

“Well, hello,” Draco answered.

“If the need for a shower is any indication of the day I’ve had, I’d say I’ve had the best day ever,” Harry said.

“You know, Lily said a very watered down version of that same thing.”

“You think they had a good time?”

Draco scoffed. “Are you kidding me?”

“Well, you wouldn’t believe how many of the others told me it was a dumb idea to include some of the things I did. You should have seen the bloke’s face at the bounce house rental when I told him it was for my seventeen-year-old. He’d probably have an easier time processing that I’m a wizard,” Harry explained.

“I’m not going to lie, if you asked me this morning, I would have told you that it was extravagant even for you and that your ideas were probably inappropriate for the ages of your guests.”

Harry’s smile never faded, “But…”

“But, I think it was perfect.”

“Your not just saying that because I’m naked?”

“Well, that’s perfect too,” Draco said, hooking an arm around Harry. “I think you did good today. Everyone had a great time, and if you are quite finished getting your ego stroked, I have some plans for you.”  He pressed a kiss against Harry’s neck. He smelled of sun and sweat and _Harry_.  

Harry helped Draco out of his clothes. His hands were steady and sure and familiar and still intoxicating.  

“I think I could use some company in the shower,” Harry whispered. “Come with me?”

“Already? I think I’d like a little foreplay first, Potter.”

Harry laughed and dragged Draco toward their bathroom. Draco looked around and saw that this must have been his plan since before Draco had made his way upstairs, at least. The windows were open to the warm night air. The breeze still played against the curtains and carried in the smell of their geraniums.

Harry turned on the water and stepped in, leaving the shower door open for Draco to follow. Draco reached for Harry’s shampoo bottle and pushed him into the spray. Draco filled his palm with the shampoo he’d never let touch his own hair, and soon he had Harry’s curls covered in thick suds that filled the room with the smell of coconut and shea butter. He worked his fingers over Harry’s head and down his back until Harry looked positively drunk on the sensation.

Harry washed his own face while Draco readied a cloth with the soap Harry liked. Harry let Draco wash his body from the shoulder down until he was on his knees in front of him. Draco pushed Harry under the spray again, making sure the suds were cleared before he kissed Harry’s hip.  

Harry sighed above him, and Draco traced his fingers down Harry’s cock. When Harry started to respond to him, he took Harry into his mouth and savored the way Harry’s cock hardened against his tongue.  

Harry pulled Draco to his feet and kissed him on the mouth. “You, too,” he whispered, turning them in a slow half-circle. The warm water ran down his body, and he melted into Harry’s touch as he took the same care to wash Draco’s hair and every inch of his body as though he was praising every harsh line and soft curve. He didn’t protest when Harry backed him against the cool wall of the shower. Draco pulled Harry in for a kiss, noticing that his prick was still hard—or at least, hard again.

Minutes dragged on as they pressed hot kisses against each other’s chests, shoulder, necks, and anything else they could reach without letting go. When Draco was aching to be touched, he reached a hand between them, taking first Harry, then himself in his hand. Harry moaned against Draco’s lips and thrust upward into Draco’s fist.  

Harry held tightly to Draco, working their cocks together as Draco’s fingers held a steady pressure until Draco shuddered. Harry’s hand wrapped around Draco’s as he coaxed him to climax, watching Draco’s face as he gasped and sighed at his release.

After another kiss, Harry gently turned Draco to face the wall. He arched his back toward Harry, allowing him anything he wanted. Draco barely heard Harry ask to fuck his thighs. He nodded his consent as Harry pressed into him. Harry’s arms wrapped around Draco’s chest as he rode the sensation of Harry thrusting against him. The soft, slow strokes of Harry’s cock against his thighs and bollocks had Draco moaning softly. He felt Harry’s mouth against his back just before Harry’s hold tightened.

“Yes, please,” Draco whispered, just as Harry spilled onto him. There they stayed, letting the water wash away the evidence of their pleasure.

“I think I could sleep for a week,” Harry whispered, leaning his forehead against Draco’s shoulder.

“If you could sleep for a week, I could do eight days,” Draco argued.

“And if I had a single dash of energy left, I’d laugh.”

“Defeated so easily?” Draco teased as he shut off the water.

“Yes, I defeated you so easily.”

“I hope you brought more than one towel,” Draco said.

“What? You can’t cast a wandless _Accio_?” Harry asked.

“Hand me a damned towel or I’m taking yours.”

They dried as quickly as their fatigue would allow and fell into bed. Draco pulled the blankets up to his waist and threw an arm over Harry. They could still hear the crickets and frogs through the open windows, so it must not be as late as their bodies were telling them.  

Draco could have told Harry what a perfect day he’s had, or how lovely the weather was this afternoon. He could tell Harry how happy he felt while lying in their bed. Draco could tell Harry that today’s barbecue-turned-carnival was a lovely way to send their daughter into her last year of school. He could remind Harry that once the kids all left, there would still be this. But he would do none of that. Not right now. Tonight, Draco would hold Harry and enjoy the summer breeze carrying the sounds of the night into their bedroom.


End file.
